Sand Lizards send Lions packingDARDANELLE — The Sand Lizards “imposed their will” on the Hamburg Lions on Friday at Keenan Field. “And there was nothing they could do about it,” Dardanelle head coach Josh Price said after the game. “We just dominated them physically.” Hamburg's (9-3) Lorenzo Watkins returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to give the Lions their only touchdown of the night, but the Sand Lizards responded by scoring 28 points in the second half to beat H...

Top-ranked Zebras beat CyclonesPINE BLUFF — Zebras quarterback Ladarius Skelton was sacked by the Russellville Cyclones and coughed up the football on Friday night’s first play from scrimmage. But the defending Class 6A state champion turned three RHS turnovers into first-half touchdowns and went on to defeat the Cyclones 42-21 in the second round of the state playoffs. Russellville ended its 2015 football season with a 5-7 overall record under first-year coach Billy Dawson...

Cyclones seek Pine Bluff upsetRussellville Cyclones first-year head coach Billy Dawson said the No. 1 ranked Pine Bluff Zebras will show up as advertised when Russellville travels to Torii Hunter Field at Jordan Stadium for the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs. The Zebras (10-0) are the reigning Class 6A state champions, with 14 returning starters from last year and six Division I players. “I’d say they’ve earned their ranking,” Dawson said. “Athletically, there...

Golden Suns bring home hardware at GAC banquetHOT SPRINGS — Hunter Eshnaur was named the Great American Conference Freshman of the Year, Sarita Stegall was tabbed the GAC’s Setter of the Year, and Kristy Bayer was named the GAC Coach of the Year, leading a cast of four Golden Suns volleyball players to earn all-GAC honors at the conference’s annual awards banquet Wednesday night. Eshnaur, Stegall, and senior Katie Huff earned first team honors while Madison Nagel was named to the all-GAC ...

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ATU Athletic CommunicationsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Danville faces Paris rematch in playoffsDANVILLE — Few picked the Danville Little Johns to win the 3A-4 Conference and the No. 1 seed in the Class 3A state playoffs, but what people picked prior to the season made little difference. Danville (7-3) enjoyed a first round bye, while the majority of the 3A had to battle through first round games on Friday. The Little Johns will get a rematch for their round two game against the Paris Eagles. Danville defeated Paris (7-4) 35-27 on Oct. 3...

Whirlwinds dominate Cabot in tournamentThe Russellville Whirlwinds defeated the Cabot Junior Panthers 44-28 on Thursday in the second round of the Whirlwind Invitational inside Cyclone Gymnasium. Russellville (1-1) was defeated by Van Buren on Tuesday in round one and faced Cabot in the loser’s bracket. The Whirlwinds made short work of the Junior Panthers and took a 7-4 lead after the first quarter and a 22-10 lead at halftime. Jakobe Donald dominated the first quarter for Russell...

Hubbard earns 7th-degree black beltMartial Arts America instructor John Hubbard earned his seventh-degree black belt in taekwondo on Saturday in Plano, Texas. Hubbard, who opened Martial Arts America in Russellville in June of 1990, has been a black belt for 29 years and a sixth-degree black belt since 2009. “It’s a great honor considering how long I’ve been working on it,” Hubbard said. “The organization I tested through is recognized by all the taekwondo groups in the world. ...

Sand Lizards brace for HamburgDARDANELLE — Sand Lizards head coach Josh Price has said all season that Dardanelle’s offensive and defensive lines should be able to dominate whatever opponent they happened to be playing each week. Price hesitated this week when talking about Dardanelle’s game against the Hamburg Lions in the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs. “They better dominate them,” he said. “Or it will be basketball season. They have to dominate Friday to gi...

Lake Atkins hosts kayak fishing tournamentATKINS — The first annual Kayak Anglers Arkansas state championship took place Saturday on Lake Atkins. The tournament was conducted by the Razoryak Tournament Trail, which consists of three membered clubs in Arkansas — the Arkansas Kayak Angelers out of Northwest Arkansas, the Western Arkansas Kayak Anlgers Club out of Fort Smith and the Kayak Bass Anglers out of South Central Arkansas. Each club hosts seven to eight events throughout the sea...

Apaches seek stronger 2016 finishPOTTSVILLE — Apaches head basketball coach Shane Thurman is happy several of his players are still tied up in football. That means the Pottsville football team is still in the Class 4A state playoffs. Still, it means the basketball coach will have to make due until the season is over. “We have three or four starters coming out of basketball in Jake Dugger, Josh Dugger and Peyton Lasher. It’s going to be a slow start for us.” Besides those thre...

Wonder Boys going to Heart of Texas BowlArkansas Tech University has been selected to send its football team to the 2015 C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl. The Wonder Boys (8-3) will face the Eastern New Mexico University Greyhounds (6-5) at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 10,000-seat Bulldawg Stadium in Copperas Cove, Texas. Radio station KCJC 102.3 FM and www.arkansastechsports.com will have live play-by-play coverage. The bowl selection marks the 10th time in the 101-season history...

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ATU Athletic CommunicationsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Cyclones advance over SheridanThe Russellville Cyclones hoisted first-year head coach Billy Dawson on their shoulders after their 35-23 victory over the Sheridan Yellowjackets in the first round of the Class 6A state playoffs on Friday at Cyclone Stadium. “Family on three,” Dawson said, and the Cyclones responded in kind. Friday’s win is Russellville’s first playoff win since 2009 — a 27-26 victory over the Springdale Bulldogs. The Cyclones (5-6) opened the season 1-5 but ...

No. 1 Sand Lizards shut out Wolves 42-0 in 4ADARDANELLE — The top-ranked Sand Lizards got three touchdowns on offense and three interceptions on defense from junior Dakota Rowland, and Dardanelle ended Lincoln’s season 42-0 in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs at Bob Keenan Field Friday. The Sand Lizards (11-0) enforced the AAA Mercy Rule for the 10th time this season. The only game Dardanelle did not enforce the rule was its 44-20 win over Pulaski Robinson in week 8. Timo M...

Wildcats dominate Parkers ChapelHECTOR — The Hector Wildcats made short work of the Parkers Chapel Trojans on Friday in the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs. Hector took a 35-0 lead in the second quarter, and the game was over from there. Parkers Chapel scored once in the second quarter and again in the third, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Wildcats (11-0) from running up a 56-14 victory. “We came out and absolutely dominated,” Hector head coach Mark Taylor said....

Camden Harmony Grove eliminates Red DevilsCAMDEN — The Atkins Red Devils and Harmony Grove Hornets faced off in the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs on Friday night, but the Hornets managed to walk away with a 28-21 victory, ending the Red Devils’ season. Atkins (6-5) started the game strong and controlled the ball for a 15-play offensive drive before a turnover to Harmony Grove. The Red Devils quickly took the ball back with an interception by Cory Childress three plays lat...

City looks into soccer water reservoirThe Russellville City Council’s Finance Committee is trying to come up with a long-term solution to the problem of providing water at the Soccer Complex. The committee recommended during its meeting Tuesday to appropriate about $3,000 to $4,000 for City Engineer Kurt Jones to conduct studies into the land at the complex to see if a water reservoir is feasible. Jones explained that he thought an impoundment with an average depth of 5 feet that ...

Sand Lizards begin 4A state run with LincolnDARDANELLE — Sand Lizards head coach Josh Price feels confident heading into today’s game against the Lincoln Wolves in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs. “We feel like if we don’t turn the ball over, and we play with intensity, we should be fine,” he said. Price didn’t want to seem overconfident. The Wolves (4-6) are one year into a new system and in the playoffs after going 1-9 in 2014. Price said he expects Lincoln to show up a...

Wildcats take on Parkers Chapel in 2AHECTOR — The Hector Wildcats will square off with the Parkers Chapel Trojans today in the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs. “We are excited about the opportunity,” Hector head coach Mark Taylor said. “As soon as you get into the playoffs, the stakes are raised. It’s win or go home. That’s what my team has set their sites on. They wanted to be the one seed so we could play at home for our first two games.” Parkers Chapel (3-6) uses a ...

RHS cheer wins opening competitionHOT SPRINGS — The Russellville Cyclones cheer team won its first competition of the year at the National Cheerleading Association (NCA) Arkansas Challenge. The team won the Class 6A division, overall best use of jumps and the grand champion high-point award with a score of 94.30 — higher than any other team at the competition. Russellville beat returning state champion Benton and state runner-up Sheridan. Cyclones head cheer coach Shirley Wade...

RHS faces Sheridan in round one playoffsThe Russellville Cyclones and first-year head coach Billy Dawson go way back with their first-round opponent Sheridan Yellowjackets in the Class 6A state playoffs. A Dawson-led Yellowjackets football team defeated the Russellville Cyclones 41-38 on a field goal in the first round of the playoffs in 2000 at Cyclone Stadium. Russellville got revenge in 2001 with a 7-3 victory, but Dawson was no longer with the Yellowjackets. This marks the secon...